Category: healthy living

Tomorrow is the first day of autumn, and I absolutely love this season! Fall means apples, pumpkins, colorful leaves, sweaters, leggings and boots, and hot beverages all day long. We have been getting a plethora of apple from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share, so I have been experimenting with gluten free apple desserts. I’ve created this recipe which is loosely based off of a Dutch Apple Pie, and I gotta say, it’s really delicious! Since it only has one crust instead of two, it’s easier to make than a traditional pie and also lower in calories!

Dietitians often use the “Healthy Plate,” combined with portion control, to help people plan healthy meals in order to help control their blood sugar, lower cholesterol and to lose weight. The healthy plate is similar to the USDA’s “My Plate,” except that half of the plate is just vegetables, instead of fruits and vegetables. The other half of the plate is divided evenly between lean proteins and high carb (and hopefully high fiber!) foods. Also, corn, potatoes, and peas count as a starch, not a vegetable. Beans and legumes count as a protein and a starch. There you have it- the healthy plate in a nutshell!

How does the healthy plate method help with weight loss and blood sugar control? Vegetables are high in fiber, water, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and very low in calories. As you eat more vegetables, you will naturally start eating less of the high calorie, high carb, high fat foods that contribute to chronic disease and weight gain when consumed in excess.

The main problem of the typical American diet, is that it is full of high fat proteins and highly refined carbs, with very little room for vegetables. If you are like most Americans, as far as your diet goes, Incorporating more vegetables into your diet is the #1 most important thing you could do to improve your health and your family’s health.

Since veggies are so important, I decided to share what eating the healthy plate way would look like throughout the day and give you some tips to get started.

Breakfast:

Breakfast Burritos

Toss a handful of spinach into the pan while frying your eggs.

Toss in a handful of spinach or kale to your favorite Smoothie Recipe.

Make a meal out of your salad. Salads are a great way to fill up on vegetables, but they don’t always fill me up. To make a salad a complete meal, add some lean proteins like baked or grilled chicken, a hard boiled egg or roasted chickpeas. Then add a high fiber carb, like cooked quinoa, corn or more beans. For more filling power, add a sprinkling of sunflower seeds, almonds or avocado.

Add leftover steamed or roasted veggies from the night before to your lunch sandwich or wrap

Take vegetable soup or stew to work with you.

Snacks: Try Veggies and Hummus or veggies and dip

Dinner: Veggie should be the main event at dinner time!

Start Dinner with a simple side salad

Sauté or Roast Fresh Vegetables to go with your dinner.

Steam frozen vegetables in the microwave, sprinkle with some cheese or your favorite dressing.

This cake is dense and rich, but not dry, and it has half the fat and sugar of regular cake. The secret ingredient? Sweet potatoes!

Sweet potatoes have been my favorite vegetable for a long time, so years ago, when I found this Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake recipe in a Reader’s Digest magazine I had to try it. I recently adapted it into a gluten free version and it tastes even better than I remembered!

For a stronger cinnamon flavor, I recommend Saigon Cinnamon instead of regular cinnamon. Saigon cinnamon has a lighter hue and a much stronger flavor profile. It’s found in the spice section at most grocery stores.

To Frost: Let cakes cool completely before frosting. Top first layer with frosting and then sprinkle with chocolate chips and/or walnuts if desired. Layer second cake on top of first frost all sides of cake. Sprinkle with cinnamon and more chocolate chips and walnuts or decorate as desired. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator to keep fresh.

Do you have any favorite ways of hiding vegetables in baked goods? Let me know by posting a comment! And let me know if you try baking the cake!

Growing up, one of my favorite treats was my mom’s Almond Poppyseed Muffins. She would let me and my twin sister help her mix up the batter- butter, sugar, flour, sour cream, almond extract and poppyseed. They would smell heavenly when they came out of the oven, and would be devoured as soon as they cooled. I recently tried make a gluten free version of these muffins using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour.

When baking anything gluten free for the first time, especially when it comes to my favorite recipes, I’m always a little anxious to see if it’s going to taste as good as the original. I recently had a failed pizza crust baking experience that was pretty disappointing, so I was really hoping these muffins would turn out.

I wasn’t disappointed! They were just as good as the originals, and according to my husband, tasted even better the second day! These muffins are light, fluffy, slightly sweet and they have a mild nutty flavor from the poppyseed and almond extract.

2 TB poppyseeds (some spices may be contaminated with wheat so be sure to check the manufacturer’s’ website)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sugar (reduced from 3/4 cup sugar in the original recipe), plus sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)

2 eggs

3/4 cup light sour cream

11/2 tsp almond extract

Directions:

Combine flour, salt, poppyseed and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, then sour cream and almond flavoring to butter and sugar mixture.

Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture until well combined.

Fill well greased muffin tins 3/4 full and let muffins sit on the counter while oven is pre-heating to 350.

Sprinkle each muffin with a light dusting of sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in muffins is clean.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

While these muffins aren’t “healthy” per se, since they are full of butter, sugar and refined flour, they make for a fun treat! I’m still figuring out ways to incorporate whole grains into gluten free baking, as most of the gluten free flour blends are very low in fiber. Suggestions are welcome!

Last Saturday, I really wanted a hot breakfast, but we were out of eggs! I remembered a wonderful dish my mom used to make with leftover corn sometimes during the summer, and decided to try making it with a few upgrades (i.e. more veggies!). I like this recipes because it’s quick, easy, healthy, gluten free, and delicious! Plus, I can’t think of a healthier way to sneak in some bacon. =)

Ingredients:

4-6 Slices of Bacon

1 small onion, diced

1 bell pepper (red, green or orange)

1 cup frozen corn (or fresh corn shaved off the cob)

handful of raw spinach

Shredded cheese for topping ( I used taco mix cheese)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook bacon until crispy, drain grease and pat bacon dry. Set aside.

Saute onion and pepper in a little olive oil, salt and pepper until translucent and slightly soft (About 10 minutes).

While onions and pepper are cooking, crumble bacon into bite size pieces.

Serving Suggestion: Served with roasted potatoes or fried eggs. I used peppers, onions and spinach, but you could throw in any other veggies you have on hand too, like asparagus zucchini. For a more filling meal and extra fiber, try adding 1 cup of rinsed black or pinto beans and top with salsa!

I love this recipe because it’s simple, easy and doesn’t require any expensive baking mixes or hard to find flours. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and is nutritious and delicious! Serve topped with powdered sugar, cinnamon and fresh berries!

Easy Gluten Free Crepes Recipe

(Makes 3-4 large crepes)

Crepe Ingredients:

2 oz Light Cream Cheese

2 Large Eggs

1/3 cup Gluten Free Oats

1/3 cup low fat milk

1/2 tsp Gluten Free Vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender (I made mine in my Ninja Bullet). Pour batter onto hot griddle prepared with non-stick cooking spray. When batter starts to bubble on the pan, flip crepes over. Leftover batter can be stored covered in the fridge for the next day.

As a dietitian, it pains me just a little bit to ever follow a recipe completely, without trying to make it healthier with a few tweaks. Here are a couple tips and tricks I do on a regular basis to make recipes a little bit healthier.

Tip: Use a blend of half whole wheat and half white flour for everything.

Nutrition Boost:Increases dietary fiber. Substitute half the flour in a recipe for whole wheat flour. This works well for pizza crust, muffins, cookies, bread, pancakes and coffee cake. Everything will be a little bit denser, but still just as delicious! I wouldn’t do this for cakes or delicate cookies, since it might make them too crumbly.

Tip: Reduce the sugar by 1/2 of what the recipe calls for.

Nutrition Boost: Baked goods will have less empty calories. I do this for breakfast foods, like rolls and muffins and quick breads, like pumpkin, banana bread and zucchini bread. When cutting the sugar in half, you can sprinkle to the top of the baked goods with a little cinnamon and sugar or lemon and sugar glaze for an extra pop of flavor. Not feeling super confident to start altering recipes? Try my 20 Minute Cinnamon Biscuits or Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal which have already been tweaked for you!

Nutrition Boost: Improve the balance of heart healthy fats in your diet. Even if a recipe calls for something to be sautéed in butter, I substitute most or all of the butter for olive oil. Why olive oil? Olive oil is high in heart healthy monounsaturated fats, is easy to find, and lends a mild and pleasant flavor to most savory dishes. If you really want that buttery flavor, melt just a tablespoon of butter into the dish at the end.

What are your favorite ways to improve recipes? I’d love to hear from you!